Sometimes it pays to think outside of the box when promoting your hotel. It’s all very well putting yourself onto the relevant sites, achieving consistent reviews and ensuring staff are always at the top of their game, but sometimes you just need to shake things up in order to take things to the next level. Events partnerships are one way of getting the word out there in a fun and unique way. Here are some hotels who’ve had great success with partnerships, perhaps their experiences could inform your own.
Taking Inspiration From The Sochi Marriott Krasnaya Polyana
One hotel that is performing well thanks to a recent partnership is the Sochi Marriott Krasnaya Polyana Hotel. This hotel offered itself as the home for the 2019 EPT and has received great publicity and a boosted clientele because of this. The hotel links to the enormous Sochi Casino, allowing guests a special entrance to one of the largest and most beautiful casinos in Russia. Linking buildings in this way is risky, but if the two businesses are genuinely complimentary then it can bring extra trade to both.
Another link that the Sochi Marriott Krasnaya Polyana has made is with the Gorky Resort. This resort just steps away from the hotel and offers all the usual amenities you would expect from a mall, but also features an aquapark, a bowling centre and a cinema. The main attraction though is the ski lift, which allows you to travel to Polyana 960 where you can ski, take a hot air balloon and even visit the husky centre.
While we don’t all have a glitzy casino or an enormous winter activity park on our doorstep, there’s still something to be learned from the Sochi Marriott Krasnaya Polyana’s approach to promotion. Aligning yourself with those in your area is a great way to bring in more trade. If your hotel operates in a small town, or even village, then it pays to all work together to attract tourism. Whether that’s offering guests a discount in local shops if they stay with you, or putting on concerts in a local venue to entertain guests, there’s usually a way to pool resourced together to drum up interest.
Successful Hotel and Restaurant Collaborations
Combining hotel and restaurant is certainly nothing new, as most hotels offer at least the option of breakfast. However, combining a hotel with the expertise of a Michelin starred chef is a little more unusual. One hotel that has begun this partnership with great success is the Corinthia in London. This exclusive London spot chose to collaborate with world-renowned chef Tom Kerridge to create a restaurant for guests at the hotel. Whilst Kerridge usually tends to stick to more rural locations, the idea of opening a London restaurant excited him and this venture has seen the business go from strength to strength.
If your restaurant is a little smaller then that’s not to say you too can’t benefit from having an excellent chef on board. Many hotels (and bars) offer out their kitchens to companies who will give hotels a percentage of profits in exchange for free use of the kitchen. Working in this kind of partnership means that people who might like the food from this particular kitchen franchise will visit your hotel just to eat. This could lead to them recognising you like somewhere that they might like to stay and booking for the future, or just a few drinks in the bar. Similarly, your paying guests benefit the kitchen franchise by allowing them to serve guests who they might not usually get to.
Working in collaborations and partnerships can be incredibly rewarding. Whether you’re putting on an enormous poker event, or just putting together a discount deal with your local pub, getting to network with your community can only do your business good. Remember to align your hotel with people who share your ideals, go into everything with a community spirit and enjoy the rewards of partnership.
